Creative Strategy and Campaign Planning

So, what's typically included?

• Creative strategy: The core of the creative strategy is a creative concept, a.k.a. "the big idea."  Sometimes the big idea is conceptual and serves as the underpinning for all executions across channels. Depending on the needs of the campaign or brand, it may also ladder up to a unifying themeline.

• Creative Brief (Optional): When coordinating a larger creative team or a combined team of various competencies, it is useful to have a streamlined document that summarizes everything from the behaviors and desires of the target audiences to the creative concept and the overarching plan. The Creative Brief is a distillation of all of the essential campaign components that serve as a guide for all participants in our marketing efforts.

• Campaign/Brand Themeline: Often, the creative concept builds to a themeline. The themeline is a compelling and sometimes summarizing statement that aims to connect the target audience to the brand directly. The best themelines are a combination of emotional and functional language, and can include a "call to action."

• Brand Platform (Optional):

• Campaign Logo (Optional): Sometimes a product or a campaign benefits from a dedicated logo or mark. Fundraising campaigns can also make great use of logos, even if the parent organization's brand has a logo already.

• Campaign Plan: The plan is usually a "living" document and a central point of coordination for everyone involved. The plan includes at a minimum the major chapters of the campaign or engagement, along with essential tasks, assignments to responsible parties, dates, automation, notes, and deliverables. As the document lives online, everyone can access it at any time.

What are the outcomes?

• The goal of this group of essential marketing components is a well-coordinated team with an emotional creative concept and a nimble plan poised for success — and capable of adapting as the campaign unfolds.